The present invention relates to a battery-powered vehicle and more particularly to a battery-powered vehicle providing a structure for guiding leaked battery fluid toward the outside of the vehicle.
In a battery-powered vehicle, battery fluid, which is dilute sulfuric acid, possibly overflows out of a battery casing due to a boil upon charging the battery. For example, in a battery-powered forklift truck, mechanisms for driving, various kinds of control units and hydraulic equipments are arranged below the battery. Therefore, the leaked battery fluid may flow onto the above-mentioned units and equipment, and may damage them.
Therefore, a prior art shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has been proposed and also has been practiced. In the prior art, a pair of right and left side frames 51 are interconnected by a cross plate 50. Each of the inner surfaces of the side frames 51 provides a guide portion 52. An under plate 53 is arranged on the side frames 51 so as to overpass a space between the side frames 51. A battery 54 including a plurality of cells in its casing is installed on the under plate 53.
Battery fluid leaked out of each of the cells flows onto the under plate 53 through a drain port, which is bored through the bottom of the battery casing, and flows toward right and left sides along the under plate 53, and then flows onto the side frames 51 out of the right and left peripheries of the under plate 53. Some battery fluid passes through gaps between the under plate 53 and the side frames 51. The guide portions 52, which form V-shaped grooves with the side frames 51, receive the battery fluid flowed thereon, and guide the battery fluid in front and rear directions of the vehicle. Thereby, the leaked battery fluid is drained toward the outside of the body out of positions, where the units and equipment accommodated between the side frames 51 are not damaged.
In the prior art, an unwanted effect is that a space for arranging the guide portions 52 are limited to a relatively small space to avoid an interference with the units and equipment accommodated between the side frames 51. Also, in a manufacturing process, since continuous welding is required of the guide portions 52 to inhibit the battery fluid from leaking therethrough, time and process of manufacturing increase, with a consequence of hindering cost from reducing.